PEABODY — Mike Uva is shifting gears from sports TV to broadcasting. Uva grew up in Peabody before branching out after college.
“I was at TB FOX for about five years, then about 10 months or so I had this tremendous opportunity to go to Gamecock Central,” said Uva. “They wanted to grow their brand and had offered me a job that was similar to what I was currently doing. I felt like I had done everything from a TV standpoint and this is a new challenge.”
Gamecock Central focuses on South Carolina University sports. “Gamecock Central is the number one spot for sports. We cover football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball — which is really popular down there — and baseball. We cover other sports as well but those are our bread and butter,” said Uva.
Uva’s television run didn’t start in South Carolina but actually in Mississippi.
“I started at WFXW in Greenville, Mississippi from 2015-2016. I was covering a celebrity golf outing and I started talking to Corey Millar who was the lead sports reporter. He then tells me that there’s an opening at the station,” said Uva. “I was thinking I was going to be there for two years, thinking I was going to climb up the ladder. However, I didn’t, which was the best thing that could have happened.”
Covering sports through television and broadcasting wasn’t something that he thought he would do.
“Looking back to St. John’s Prep, senior year my teammate Jared Coppola got injured, he fractured his C5 vertebra. The crazy thing about it is that a year before, his triple brother Brandon had fractured the same vertebra. Fortunately for Brandon, he only needed a neck brace but it left Jared paralyzed from the waist down,” said Uva. “I did a story on his recovery and the response I got on it was incredible. Then in college, I and some friends started a scratch sports talk show at Assumption and one thing led to another and here I am.”
Uva’s knowledge of sports as well as his time playing has helped him along the way. “There is a lot of similarity between playing and reporting sports. The discipline aspect of sports and even the cliche things help,” said Uva. “I think it helped a lot in that regard. But everything that sports teach in general helped too.”
It also helps when your father is a head coach. “My dad has been coaching for 39 years. he’s been at Stoneham, Waltham, Peabody, and now St. John’s Prep. So growing up with him was helpful as well,” said Uva.
Maddi Filip can be reached at [email protected].
